Sen. Marleau supports state income tax relief

LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Jim Marleau supported passage of legislation this week to preserve the personal exemption on the state income tax and provide additional tax relief for families in Oakland County and across Michigan.

“Michigan families work hard, and they deserve to keep more of their money,” said Marleau, R-Lake Orion. “This bill will provide needed tax relief to families and small business owners alike.”

The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed by President Trump in December 2017 simplifies the code, lowers tax rates, doubles the standard deduction and increases family tax credits. However, in streamlining the exemption process, it effectively ends the federal personal exemption.

Since the state personal exemption is based on the federal return, without a revision to state law, Michigan taxpayers would no longer be able to claim personal exemptions on their state taxes.

Senate Bill 748 would make the necessary changes to maintain the state personal exemption and also boost the exemption by an additional $700 to $5,000 by 2021. Currently, the state personal exemption is scheduled to increase from $4,000 to $4,300 over the next three years.